Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Broadway's "American Idiot" headed to the big screen?

According to the website deadline.com (link is here), Universal Pictures is currently in negotiations to bring the Tony-nominated Green Day rock opera "American Idiot" to the big screen. Dustin Lance Black, the Oscar-winning scribe of "Milk," is currently in talks to write the film adaptation.

Should the film come to fruition, Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong is expected to reprise his role as the drug dealer St. Jimmy.

It's certainly not a done deal by any means. Universal has a bit of a history of optioning Broadway shows and then doing nothing with them ("In the Heights" anyone?)

"American Idiot" will end its Broadway run on April 24. Critics and regular theatergoers criticized the show for lack of plot and dialogue. Perhaps it was a case of lower expectations, but when I caught the show in February, I found it to be insightful, energetic and thought-provoking. Much like "Wicked" (and "Rent," "Hair," and others before it) it's appeal might be generational. Without a question, the Broadway production of "American Idiot" seemed to speak to a younger generation of non-traditional theatergoers.

Two numbers from the Broadway show that I found particularly moving are "21 Guns" and "Are We the Waiting."